Divine Blue [Book One]

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Taylor pulled her dress up as she climbed the stairs so as not to step on it. She figured she could recycle the dress for some other occasion, but she was most certainly going to change out of it into something much more comfortable. She rounded the doorway to her room and closed it behind her.

She undressed and put on some black long johns and an oversized hoodie. She took the hair tie from her wrist, threw her hair up onto the top of her head, and laid down on her bed. As she settled in, she turned on her fireplace and grabbed her phone from her bedside table to look at the latest social media news.

Taylor's window flew open as she continued looking at her phone. Samuel appeared.

"I trust you received my message?" Samuel asked Taylor.

Taylor looked up. "Good evening to you, too, Sam. Yeah, I got it. How did you even send it? Do angels have cell phones?"

"No, we don't require such devices. But I was able to tap into it to display the message to you. Society seems to have outgrown pigeons."

"You guys actually used to use carrier pigeons?"

"Not habitually, but, yes, it was a common form of communication."

"What are you doing here, Samuel?"

"We're due for another lesson this evening," he told Taylor.

"As if tonight couldn't be even more spectacular, I get to go learn how to save the world."

"I do apologize, Taylor. I know now that this hasn't been very easy for you."

"It's cool, Sam. I appreciate the sentiment."

"I will see you in a few minutes, I presume?"

Before Taylor could answer, Samuel had already escaped through the window. She got up from her bed and went over to her closet to grab a pair of jeans to put over her long johns and to get the big, bulky coat she had purchased after her solo excursion to the house. She made sure to zip and button the jacket in every spot possible and pulled the hood over her head. She feared she looked like the Michelin man. Luckily, she wasn't dressing for anyone but herself. She grabbed the cold weather safety glasses as well and placed them over her eyes.

Taylor soared through the chilly night air and felt more free and relaxed than she had been all night. There was something very soothing about looking at the world from above in her own little bubble. There was much more bustle than usual going on below her, with children walking the neighborhoods in their costumes in search of the best and biggest treats to fill their pumpkin-shaped coffers.

As she neared the Victorian home in the middle of nowhere, Taylor held out her hand and a burst of blue light escaped from her palm. She burst open the door with her force and landed in the foyer on her feet.

"Good evening, Taylor," Sarai said calmly from the table on the left side of the room. "A bit cold for you outside?"

Taylor put her hood down and took off the glasses. "When you're going through the cold night air, yeah, it's a little nippy for those of us with human nerve endings."

"Are you ready to start refining some of your skills? We haven't much time."

"Much time for what?"

"We don't have much time until the demon starts encroaching on Adrienne."

"How much time are we talking here?"

"Just before Christmas."

"OK, what do we need to do?"

"You've been doing very well with your powers. You channel them nicely. We must build on that."

"Can I have another crack at the one in the box?"